Star Wars is a franchise that's no stranger to controversy, especially when fans feel modern changes betray the lore of the original trilogy. That's seemingly happened once again after A LEGO set featuring Boba Fett's ship Slave-1 was renamed "Boba Fett's Starship." Now, ahead of The Mandalorian spinoff featuring the character, a past Boba Fett actor is going off on the change.
Mark Anthony Austin, who played Boba Fett in the special edition version of Star Wars: A New Hope, is pretty steamed about the alleged change of Boba Fett's ship name. Austin has been active on Twitter since the news of the LEGO set first hit the internet, and he can't understand why the change would happen in the first place:
While Austin is not at all a fan of the alteration, it's yet to be confirmed as an official name change. Disney (who is used to fan scrutiny for decisions) has not personally confirmed whether the name of the ship will henceforth be known as "Boba Fett's Starship," and it's possible the LEGO set used that name to make clearer on the packaging what a consumer would be purchasing. Despite that, Mark Anthony Austin has continued to mock the idea in successive tweets and chastised Disney for its alleged decision.
It should be noted that while Mark Anthony Austin only has one uncredited appearance as Boba Fett, his love for the character is difficult to question. Austin starred in a fan series specifically made for the character called No Disintegrations and is a frequent poster of Star Wars content on social media. Obviously, though, his love for the fandom doesn't seem to ease his feelings, and I'm sure he'll be much louder about his disapproval should The Book Of Boba Fett reveal the Slave-1 name has officially been phased out:
Mark Anthony Austin even went so far as to suggest he wouldn't be the only actor annoyed by Slave-1's alleged name change. Austin evoked the fanbase to consider original Boba Fett actor Jeremy Bulloch and what he would possibly think of such an integral piece of the character's history being changed under Disney's ownership:
Obviously, Mark Anthony Austin and others are fully entitled to their opinions about a change in the Star Wars universe though, again, we're still unsure if this change is far-reaching. LEGO has told sites like Jedinews.com that it will no longer refer to the ship as Slave-1 in merchandising and that "everybody" is doing the same. Until we have official word from Disney, though, I would consider this matter still up in the air.
The Book Of Boba Fett is slated to arrive on Disney+ in December 2021. We still don't know a ton of what to expect in regards to the story, though current Fett actor Temura Morrison was kind enough to give a snippet of information Star Wars fans will appreciate.
